Feb. 18, 2011
Vanderbilt head coach Steve Keith added to his recruiting class for the 2011-12 year with the addition of Amira Joseph from Portland, Ore. She and four other recruits will join the Commodores, who had program-best finishes of third place at the SEC Championship meet as well as the NCAA Regional meet, on campus in the fall.
“We’re extremely excited with the addition of Amira to our distance program,” said Keith. “Just converting from a full-time soccer player to cross country this fall, we know how much upside there is to Amira’s development. She is a great student and will fit in well with the squad.”
Personal records:
1500m – 4:46.8
3000m – 10:20.9
3200m – 11:06.5
5K XC – 18:15
Prep highlights: Finished seventh individually at the 2010 Oregon 6A State XC Meet in her first season ever running cross country … She helped her team to the 6A State Championship … Ran as the number two runner on her fourth-place finishing team at the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) … Focused primarily on soccer up until her senior year … 4.0 student in high school with an interest in the sciences (biology and chemistry) and pre-med studies.
Assistant coach Rhonda Riley on Joseph: “Amira is going to be a lot of fun to work with over the next four years. She has only run cross country for one season and has tremendous potential. We look forward to Amira joining us in the fall and adding quality depth to our program.”
Joseph on picking Vanderbilt: “I was interested in Vanderbilt because it has the perfect combination of academics and athletics. After I visited and met with the coaches and the team, I was sold. I can’t wait for the next four years.”
For updates on the Vanderbilt cross country and track programs, be sure to follow the teams on Twitter @VandyXCTrack.